1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a touch safe fuse system.
2. Description of Related Art
Traditional fuse protection systems employ cylindrical cartridge fuses having cylindrical contact areas at each end thereof that are engaged to metal clips on a corresponding fuse holder. The contacts and fuse clips generally provide exposed metal surfaces that constitute an electrical safety hazard. Specifically, the contacts and fuse clips are traditionally exposed and are subject to be accidentally touched by humans or may enable a short circuit to be inadvertently created if a metal piece contacts two adjacent surfaces.
Recently, advances have been made to provide safer fuse systems that reduce the likelihood of an operator inadvertently touching a live surface of the fuse. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,337, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
However, several improvements have been made to the fuse system disclosed in the '337 patent.